Management Accountant Doctorial Training Grants - Finance Office - 105636 - Grade 7

University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job description

Position Details

Finance Office

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,130 to £45,413 with potential progression once in post to £48,149

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to May 2026

Closing date: 27th April 2025

This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager.

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Background

The Management Accounting team sits within the Financial Services department which also includes the Business Partnering and Corporate Accounting teams. Alongside Transaction Services, these teams work closely together to support and advise the wider business.

Management Accounts are financial outputs used by key stakeholders and management for day-to-day and strategic decision making. The Management Accounts team are responsible for preparing management reports and accounts to provide accurate and timely financial information required for day to day decision making and in year forecasting. This includes responsibility for the integrity of the general ledger, providing financial support and guidance to budget managers and producing relevant management information across all Colleges and Professional Services.

Role Summary

Working closely with senior management and Finance colleagues to deliver improvements to management information, accounting and reporting.

The post holder will need to be innovative and driven to develop new ways of working in order to enhance processes and maximise the quality of management information and reporting.

An ability to quickly understand data and communicate to non-financial users is key.

Main Duties

• Providing knowledge and advice on best practice relating to all aspects of accountancy, financial processes and management information for Doctoral Training Grants (DTG).
• Preparation of the annual TRAC return which includes collaboration between internal departments.
• Providing knowledge and advice about the University’s TRAC return, as well analytical reviews on the data.
• Responsibility for driving change in relation to evaluating existing procedures and processes in association with other Finance team members to drive consistency, simplification, standardisation and efficiency across the Doctoral Training Grants and TRAC return process.
• Reviewing the financial position of areas under their control, interpreting and analysing information and communicating these in a clear way to key stakeholders.
• Managing the grant budgets and monitoring of spend against each individual grant to inform the various Colleges for the purposes of financial forecasts and budget preparation.
• Responsibility for meeting all Research Council financial requirements in terms of reporting and Grant T&C’s.
• Working with DTG team’s to ensure that all reporting, JeS records and interim and final expenditure claims are submitted within the required timescales and comply with all grant eligibility conditions.
• Ensuring all income, including from external funders and collaborative University partners, is claimed in a timely manner in line with the collaborative agreements. Costs incurred by partners, where appropriate, are also paid in a timely manner.
• Continuous development of self and team through coaching and training, both formal and informal.
• Leading a team in the preparation of monthly accounts, budgets, forecasts and change projects with timely and accurate interpretation of management information.
• Planning and prioritisation of own workload and that of team.
• Dealing with external audits including UKRI and audit queries for the annual statutory accounts.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade which includes process improvements.
• Actively managing equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) plus relevant practical experience - where no equivalent qualification is held significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a series of progressively more demanding roles will be required.
• Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to produce and analyse information and data.
• CIMA or CCAB part qualified, or equivalent (finalist) with experience of working in a large and complex organisation.
• Experience of managing people and an aptitude for challenging and enhancing existing practices and principles.
• Excellent IT skills with experience in specific areas such as reporting systems and complex data sets.
• The ability to work independently and to also manage and motivate a team.
• Ability to organise workload and work to strict deadlines.
• GCSEs to a minimum of grade C in English and Mathematics (or equivalent qualifications).
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

Role context

Roles at this level will require a broad understanding and practical experience of an administrative or professional field which will be used to plan the running and development of services and/or lead shorter term projects or contribute to larger projects. You will work with information which needs interpretation and analysis; you will use your judgement to identify the best solution to differing problems and issues, offering recommendations for managing more complex situations. You are likely to be responsible for managing a team of staff, being accountable for recruiting and developing them and for managing performance. You may also need to liaise and/or co-ordinate activities across a number of different sections within the department or possibly with wider department or external bodies as appropriate.

Core competencies/transferable skills

Working at this level you will be able to develop and successfully demonstrate the core competencies/transferable skills outlined in each of the areas shown below. As appropriate for the level, our Birmingham Professionals will take ownership for getting things done. You will be expected to be flexible as required in supporting your department and wider University.

Planning and organising

• Plan the running and development of service(s), overseeing resources and inputting into resource planning as appropriate;
• Develop, agree and implement standards for delivery for own area;
• Manage a team of staff and review, develop and motivate them;
• Plan relevant training and development;
• Provide professional advice, guidance and support to others within and outside their immediate work area;
• Oversee resources and make recommendations about future resource requirements.

Problem solving and decision making

• Review, develop and propose solutions for problems with (for example) staff, budgets, services and/or systems;
• Deal effectively with unexpected issues, such as changing priorities;
• Deal with sensitive people matters/issues;
• Provide specialist advice and recommendations to support decision-making of others.

Organisational understanding

• Understand their own and closely-related working areas and how they contribute to the success of the University;
• Have an understanding of how the University operates; actively seeks to share this knowledge with others;
• Developing empathy with the academic endeavour.

Relationships and communication

• Influence decision makers and win support for proposals;
• Develop excellent working relationships within and outside of own area and potentially with external stakeholders;
• Co-ordinate activities across a number of areas.

Informal enquiries to Christopher Froggatt, email: [e-mail]

View our staff values and behaviours here

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.